Every year we all know Google releases a Nexus phone. In the case of this year, two devices. I remember last year waiting to pre-order the Nexus 6, as it was the first time I had money saved up specifically for a Nexus device, so you could imagine I was more than excited. The problem was, the second after the page refreshed, they were instantly sold out. I was more than bummed, ended up having to wait until mid-December to pick up my Nexus 6 from T-Mobile.
After I sold off my Nexus 6, I was dead set on getting the next Nexus, no matter who made it. So when it was first leaked that Huawei would be making the larger of the two devices, I was 100% on board. I have always wanted to try a Huawei phone, but they aren’t that big in the United States just yet, so this was my chance with the 6P. Granted its stock Android, but it is still built by the Chinese manufacturer.
I was very worried coming into this year, thinking the same thing would happen. The day of the pre-order, I happened to have a test that started at 12 PM. I wasn’t too confident, especially after what happened the year before. I finished my test as fast as I possibly could. My phone was pre-loaded to the Google Store page, so all I had to do was refresh. I refreshed and the 6P was still in stock. I still wasn’t confident. I added the 32 GB Graphite 6P to my cart, expecting it to disappear. It didn’t, everything went very smoothly. So first and foremost, thank you Google for having a smooth pre-order for once!
So, nearly a month later I received my Nexus 6P, so the time has finally come for our first impressions on the Nexus 6P. I have been using the device for just over a day so far and I am very impressed with everything about it. Build, software, hardware, everything. Last year’s Nexus was priced quite high, especially coming from a company such as Motorola who is about cheaper phones. So, the $499.99 price tag on the 6P along with its metal build was more than justifiable.
My favorite phone of all last year was the Nexus 6, so I had high expectations coming into the 6P. Every single one of my expectations has been surpassed. The build quality is much higher, the phone is faster, it is more appealing visually, etc. I could go on forever. Not to knock down Motorola in anyway, but I am a fan of what direction Huawei went on the 6P.
When opening the box, you are greeted by another ‘P’. Google stated in their AMA on Reddit that the ‘P’ in 6P stands for premium and they really want to get that point across. While the packaging looks very premium, I was somewhat disappointed at how cheap the box it came in was. It’s super thin, but we aren’t here to judge a box. If we were, I’ve seen better.
The presentation of the box is very subtle, as we’ve seen with Google in the past. Everything since Android Lollipop is minimal and has to do with Material Design. Once you get past the silver card, that’s where the device is hiding.
The Nexus 6P comes with a charging brick, USB Type-C to Type-C cable, and a USB Type-A to Type-C cable. The latter is only a few inches long, so it’s just to get you by until you can purchase more Type-C cables.
When taking the Nexus 6P out of the, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s one thing seeing and reading others talk about the device and how it feels in the hand, but it’s another to experience it yourself. Coming from the Galaxy Note 5, the device feels very, very premium. All of the seems on the phone are very tight and nothing sticks out. The buttons are very close to the chassis and tactile.
Since the has a metal design, the phone is quite heavy. Nothing that will “strain your wrist” as some others say, but it’s noticeable. I am a big fan of how much it weighs though, so many phones still feel cheap, and the the 6P is anything but.
The device itself it is pretty tall, but the fact that it is less wide and thick than the Nexus 6, it is still quite comfortable to hold. The button placement is very convenient and the fingerprint sensor is lightning quick.
I have never been a fan of putting a password on my phone because I hate that extra step to unlock my phone. I was hesitant to setup a security method for that reason, but I knew i had to give it a shot, especially with how well received Nexus Imprint has been. The one thing I did was turn on smart lock, which really helps with cutting down on how many times I have to enter the password.
The nice thing about having the fingerprint sensor on the back of the device is that when you reach into your pocket, you seemingly naturally put your finger in the middle of the back of the phone. So for the most part, my phone is unlocked by the time my phone is out of my pocket. It is much more convenient than tap-to-wake, but I still really wish it was included for when the device is sitting on a table.
Some other tidbits I’d like to include: Ambient Display doesn’t seem as responsive or sensitive as it did on the original Nexus 6, but I’m OK with that. It still turns on when I get a notification, which is all I ask for. I am also glad that they didn’t ax the notification light just because they have Ambient Display, so +1 for Google and Huawei. The camera hump isn’t as big (literally) of a deal as people made it out to be. I actually think the device looks good with it and it doesn’t really hurt the phones overall feel or balance. It only sticks up slightly higher than the rest of the body. My Nexus did have an update out of the box and it does have VoLTE working on T-Mobile.
Well, that’s about it. I’ve been using the Nexus 6P for not even a full day and I feel like I could keep going on and on. I’ll save the rest of my opinions for the review though. If you can’t tell, I am already a huge fan of this phone and the whole experience. If you have any questions about the Nexus 6P, just let me know. I’ll probably give it about a week or two until I publish the full review.
